Operation: Altruism
by RulerofFire
Summary: It is said that true feelings surface in dire situations. Will Knockout be any different when something dear is taken from him? Sequel to 'To Love the Enemy'
1. To have and to hold

**Author's Notes - **Here it is! The anticipated sequel from my last story 'To Love the Enemy'. If you haven't read that already, you might be a bit confused as to whats going on in this one, so I strongly suggest you read 'TLtE' first. On that note, enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer - **I STILL own nothing but my own imagination.

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><p><em><strong>~Altruism - The principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others; Opposite of egoism~<strong>_

"She's sparked."

A pregnant pause followed the announcement as everyone stopped what they were doing to let the information sink in. Even Arcee, who was still writhing in pain on the berth, couldn't help but sit up and stare in shock at both doctors. She held in an intake of air, as if waiting for the punchline to this joke. When her optics finally settled on Knockout, his dumbfounded expression confirmed that this wasn't a joke at all. She was really sparked.

"What does that mean? Being sparked?"

Of course it didn't take long for Miko to let her curiosity get the better of her and ask that question aloud. Jack would've stopped her, if he wasn't nearly as curious as Miko was.

Ratchet, noticing Knockout still fixated on the results, answered the question to the best of his ability.

"Being sparked means Arcee is carrying another life force in her spark chamber. In human terms, she would be considered pregnant." He double checked the results one last time, "And according to these scans, she's been sparked for over five months now."

Before Miko could blurt out another personal question, Jack covered her mouth with his hand and asked his own question.

"So, Arcee is actually gonna be a mom?"

Ratchet nodded to the boy before turning a pointed look to Knockout.

"And it looks like you're going to be a father."

The startled ex-Con finally looked away from the scans to gaze at Arcee, who was regarding him with pleading optics, silently begging him to respond to the situation. How was he supposed to respond though? He loved Arcee, enough to have bonded with her, but he hadn't been expecting her to get sparked from it. Being a doctor was hard enough, but caring for a child? He was only good at caring about himself. Plus all that responsibility would interfere with his free spirited self.

"I...I need to think. I just need to be alone for awhile."

Without another word, he transformed and drove out of the base, leaving them all confused as to what prompted the sudden reaction. Breakdown stepped forward, taking Knockouts place and gently pushing Arcee back down on the berth.

"Sorry about Knockout," Breakdown explained, trying to console Arcee, "I think his reaction might have something to do with the way his own father treated him in the past. That's just from what he told me, so I could be wrong."

"Thank you Breakdown." She turned her attention to Ratchet, "Would it be possible for me to leave the base for awhile? I need to talk to Knockout."

"At the rate your energon levels are being depleted, I normally wouldn't recommend it. But, if you could talk some sense into his processor, I'll let you go. But I advise you to make it quick." He produced a syringe full of energon from his workbench and injected the contents into an energon line in Arcee's arm. "This should keep you stable for about an hour or two. Now go and find that glitch head."

Arcee gave a small smirk as she too transformed and drove into the Nevada desert.

"Good thing I know where to find him."

Exactly where she thought he would be, Knockout was sitting on the edge of the cliff in their getaway spot looking out across the valley. She quieted her engine, transformed, and walked up silently behind him.

"I'm sorry."

Arcee paused in her step towards him. She didn't think he had heard her arrival, but there was no point in staying silent now. She crouched behind him and rested her chin in the groove separating his neck and his shoulder armor.

"For what?"

He turned his head slightly, glancing at her, "For leaving like that. It was very...unprofessional of me."

As he said that, Arcee felt confusion well up in her spark. Knockout was trying to hide the fact that he wasn't used to a situation like this and obviously had no idea what to do. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against in neck cables.

"Knockout, I know you're scared." She felt him tense, but continued, "I'm nervous too. A sparkling is new for both of us, but we'll get used to it." She grabbed his servo and entwined their fingers together.

"Arcee, I don't know if I can change from being vain and selfish, to being a caring father in what little time we have. I...I'm not good with change."

Arcee could almost feel the energon being drained from her systems, courtesy of the sparkling, but ignored the feeling, opting to try convincing Knockout using a different approach.

"Breakdown mentioned you had problems with your father. Is that what you're _really _afraid of? Not being a good enough father?"

The feelings of confusion from her spark quickly morphed into feelings of anger, betrayal, and disappointment. Knockout must've had a lot of problems with his father if all these feelings surfaced at the mention of him. Knockout shifted uncomfortably and gazed towards the starry sky, memories of his past resurfacing in his processor.

"Everything I did was wrong. Even getting a medical license wasn't good enough for his approval. I don't know if I can be a good father because my own wasn't exactly a shining example."

Arcee briefly wondered if that was the reason he became a Decepticon, before moving to sit next to him and guiding his face to look her in the optics.

"I know its difficult to forget the past, but you're better than that. In due time, caring for the sparkling will come naturally to you." Still seeing the uncertainty in his optics, Arcee tried one last time to convince him otherwise, "Please, at least try for my sake. I love you too much to let this drive you away."

Knockout vented a sigh and wrapped a servo around her waist. Seeing her pleading optics again made him realize how much she really did want this sparkling. Coming to a decision, he gave her his signature smirk and a slight squeeze.

"I'll try, if only for you. Now, I hope this doesn't interfere with, ahem, our nightly escapades."

Arcee smiled, glad that Knockout was returning to normal. She was about to answer with her own suggestive remark, when a noise from behind them drew her attention away from her lover.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, standing up in a defensive position.

"Hear what?" Knockout questioned, standing up as well, albeit a lot more relaxed than she was.

"I know I heard something in the bushes just now." She scanned the area for any energy signatures besides Knockout's, "I'm not getting any readings."

"That's because we're not exactly Cybertronian my dear."

Out of the bushes came the M.E.C.H leader, Silas, and an army of armored vehicles and soldiers, their guns all pointed at the two Cybertronians. With one swift motion, Silas snapped his fingers and watched as the startled robots were both paralyzed by the same electric pulse that had paralyzed Breakdown. When their systems finally went into stasis lock, both Arcee and Knockout fell to the ground, the tremble vibrating through each vehicle and every bone in the terrorist's bodies.

"Sir, which one will we be taking?"

Silas walked over to study his unconscious test subjects, grazing his gloved hand over Arcee's helm before making his decision.

"Secure the blue one. I believe they were saying something about this one being a father." He pointed to Knockout, "And if that's the case, then I want to see whats growing inside of this female. If they really are able to reproduce, she might also be of more use to us in the future."

He patted her helm before giving the order to secure her to the truck they had prepared. Before leaving though, he turned and spoke to Knockout's unconscious body.

"Thank you for leading us here. I know it wasn't intentional, but you've just done M.E.C.H a favor by aiding us in our advancements of Project Chimera. I hope we meet each other again real soon...and bring your friend. We weren't quite finished dissecting him."

Laughing at his own joke, Silas strode past both Knockout and the truck now carrying Arcee, and climbed aboard his personal helicopter, ordering the pilot to take off to their new area of operations.

"Let's see the robots find their missing comrade this time."

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><p>I hate Silas and the rest of M.E.C.H so much, that I had to make them the main villains in the sequel. Honestly, no one saw this coming?<p>

Anywho, reviews are very much appreciated! And enjoy the story!

**-RulerofFire**


	2. In sickness and in health

**Author's Notes - **Thank you all for the positive feedback on the last chapter! I'll try to keep you all entertained with this one as well. Now, I command you to enjoy this chapter! And review please!

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><p>When Arcee's systems finally onlined, she expected to be in a lot of pain, or at least heavily exhausted.<p>

She felt...fine.

It wasn't until she tried sitting up did she realize the metal clamps holding her waist, arms, and legs in place on an examination table in a dimly lit room. It felt eerily similar to the way she and Knockout had found Breakdown when the humans had kidnapped him. If those humans were planning on dissecting her as well...

Arcee began struggling against the clamps with all the might her small frame could muster. She was not about to let herself, or her unborn sparkling, be the victims of another M.E.C.H experiment.

"Struggling against the restraints is futile. You should relax and enjoy the view instead."

Lifting her helm, she saw the terrorists leader, Silas, perched on top of a higher platform smirking down at her. Behind him were many computer monitors showing various scans of her frame, as well a three dimensional model highlighting the area of her chassis they were about to cut open.

Determined not to let this particular human get the better of her, she glared back at him and retorted, "My friends and I found you all before, this time is no different. They'll track me down before you can even think about dissecting me."

Silas placed both of his hands behind his back as he paced on the upper platform, his smug look still prominent on his face.

"Oh, but this time is very different actually. You see, last time we didn't have the means to transport your friend very far, so we had to make do with bringing him to us instead. You on the other hand, given your size, were very easy to transport to a much farther location. One not even on the same continent as your friends at the moment."

Arcee's optics widened slightly, a sense of dread quickly starting to spread through her frame. At least Bulkhead had given them a location as to where Breakdown had been. While she continued trying to wiggle out of the clamps, she internally tried her comm. link, only to hear static at the other end.

"And in case you haven't already noticed, we took the liberty to disable all your communications systems and jam your signal. We don't want you making any unnecessary calls while we're operating, and we certainly don't want anymore of your friends showing up uninvited."

Doing her best to maintain her composure, Arcee stopped struggling against the restraints, but kept her glare on Silas as she spoke.

"What do you want with me anyway? What more could you get from me that you didn't already get from Break- my friend?"

"I'm glad you asked, " Silas turned towards the three dimensional model on the computer and pointed to the highlighted section of her chassis, "Unlike your friend, your energy readings are off the charts. After a thorough scan, my scientists concluded that most of the energy in your body is being directed to this spot in the middle of your chest." Glancing back at Arcee, he concluded, "After overhearing you and your _partner_ last night, I have come to the conclusion that you are indeed, as we humans would call it, pregnant."

Seeing the flash of fear in her eyes was all he needed to see to know he was correct in his assumption. He snapped his fingers and directed a team of nearby scientists to start up the various machines surrounding the restrained femme.

"Your friend gave us some useful information regarding your species technology, but you my dear, are carrying something far more valuable." A dark shadow seemed to loom over Silas's face as he looked Arcee over one last time, "Your _sparkling_, as I believe you called it, will be a useful addition to M.E.C.H's cause."

Arcee couldn't bring herself to talk back anymore as the human scientists surrounded her frame with the tools they would use to pry her chassis open. Hope of being rescued was fading from her spark fast as she realized that her only hope of rescue was laying unconscious on the other side of the world.

'_Knockout...'_

"Unhook her from the oil drip. The weaker she is, the easier this will be."

Belatedly, Arcee realized the reason she wasn't exhausted from energon loss was because of a device pumping fresh oil into her systems through a series of cables connected to certain panels on her frame. The moment the cables were unhooked though, a wave of exhaustion befell her and stasis lock threatened to overtake her systems unless she got some real energon soon.

"Once we're done dissecting her, we'll leave Hahn airbase and attempt to capture another one of the specimens. We could use this one as bait to lure the red one to us for example..."

That was the last of Silas she heard before the sound of drills reached her audials. She fought the urge to enter stasis lock, pushing herself to stay online, even as the scientists began cutting through her armor with heavy duty handheld buzz saws. She had to find some way to get a message across to the other Autobots and fast.

_'Knockout...please. Hurry.'_

~...~

When Knockout's systems finally came online, the first thing he felt was pain. Not just where the paralyzing blast had hit him, but throughout his entire frame.

It almost felt like...he was being torn apart.

Sitting up and grabbing his helm, he took a moment to try and remember what had happened the night before.

Ratchet had announced that Arcee was sparked with his child, he had driven to their getaway spot to try and clear his processor, Arcee had found him and convinced him to give the sparkling a chance, those humans showed up...

He clutched at his chassis as another wave of pain flooded through his spark chamber. Whatever was causing this pain was getting extremely close to sensitive nodes and cables around the inner casing of the spark chamber. Since a quick scan showed nothing out of the ordinary with his own systems, Knockout could only assume that the pain was coming from Arcee.

"They shocked us into stasis lock...and they took her. Arcee...I'm so sorry."

He clenched his dentals as the pain became increasingly worse. Whatever they were doing to Arcee was not good for either of them, or the unborn sparkling. He needed to find her location and fast. Fighting back the pain, he transformed and drove as fast as he could through the Nevada desert.

With the rock formation hiding the Autobot's base in sight, Knockout pushed his accelerator to the limit. Barely giving the blast doors enough time to open, he raced into the center of the base before slamming on the breaks and transforming into his bipedal mode.

"I need a fix on Arcee's location now!"

"Knockout what happened? Where's Arcee?" Optimus asked turning to address the frazzled medic.

"That's what I need to find out." Taking a deep intake of air, he explained, "M.E.C.H saw it fit to pay us a visit last night. They put us both in stasis lock with this electrical surge and then took Arcee. Whatever they're doing to her-!"

He couldn't finish explaining as he felt something akin to a drill hitting what would be an extremely sensitive panel in Arcee's inner workings. Doubling over, he accepted Breakdown's assistance and unsteadily made his way over to the examination berth.

"I'm not getting any energon readings, even when I boost the signal. Those humans didn't say where they were taking her?" Ratchet inquired.

Knockout could only shake his head as the pain became increasingly worse. How was he supposed to find Arcee if he didn't even know where to start looking?

"Could they be back in...where did they take me...Russia?" Breakdown asked.

Ratchet typed in the coordinates from the abandoned Russian town where they had found Breakdown, but got an error message in response.

"The signal isn't strong enough to reach across the world. We were lucky to have had Bulkhead give us the location last time."

Still writhing on the berth, Knockout shut his optics and tried focusing on his spark chamber, mainly to try and ease the pain that wasn't his. If he could give some sort of small comfort to Arcee, then maybe...wait...

_'Arcee?'_

Their sparkbond. They were able to feel each others emotions and feelings, but on a couple of occaisions, they had been able to communicate solely through their connection. Since the humans had most likely shut off her comm link and jammed her signal as they had done with Breakdown, this could be the only way to find out where she was being held captive.

_'Arcee, can you hear me?'_

_'...Knockout?'_

Immediately forgetting the pain, Knockout bolted upright on the berth, and quieted everyone in the room.

_'I'm here. Are you alright?'_

_'...No. Knockout, they want the sparkling...'_

_'Stay online Arcee, I need you to stay online for as long as you can.'_

_'I'm...trying...'_

Signaling for Ratchet to prepare the ground bridge, Knockout continued talking to Arcee through their bond.

_'Did the humans mention where they took you? Did they give you any clues at all?'_

_'...No...although I heard something about...Hahn airbase. Other than that...nothing.'_

"Hahn airbase?" Knockout wondered, looking over as Ratchet typed the base name in a search engine.

"Here it is. This base was used during the humans Cold War, but its been abandoned ever since...until now that is." Scrolling down the page further, Ratchet finally saw what he was looking for, "It's located in west-central Germany. I'm inputting its coordinates now."

As the ground bridge activated, Knockout gave Arcee as much hope as he could at the moment.

_'I'm coming Arcee. You have my word.'_

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><p>Hahn airbase is a real former military base, now being used for commercial flight, but for the sake of the story, its still abandoned.<p>

For some reason, this chapter seemed to take FOREVER to write, but now that its finished, I can start working on the big rescue scene! Hope you all can't wait! And remember to enjoy and review!

**-RulerofFire**


	3. Til death do us part

**Author's Notes - **Sorry for the slight delay, but here it is. The rescue scene! Hope you all enjoy and remember to review!

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><p>When the ground bridge portal delivered the entire Autobot team (minus Arcee), Knockout, and Breakdown to the coordinates Ratchet had input into the computer, they were met with miles upon miles of tarmac, unused aircraft's, and hundreds of rows of empty military hangers.<p>

Optimus looked out over the barren base and vented a sigh.

"Ratchet, are you getting any signal from Arcee at all?"

The Autobot medic turned the scanner on to full power and waited for the readings to appear on the small screen.

"I'm sorry Optimus. M.E.C.H must be using a very strong jammer, since I can't find any trace of Arcee anywhere. The only one we can rely on now is-"

"AAARGH! _What the frag are those humans doing to her_?"

"-Knockout."

The team turned to witness the ex-Con clutching at his chassis with both servos, his sharp fingers dangerously close to scratching his own paint job. He grimaced as a particularly strong feeling of dread overcame him.

"She's...slaggit, they're tearing her apart! I can feel it but..." He tried reestablishing his previous sparkbond connection with her, but got no response this time, "I can't contact her again."

"Then we'll split up. I want all of you to search every hanger and report anything suspicious." Optimus' battle mask slid over his face as he gave the order, unsubspacing his blaster as well. "If you come across the humans, don't harm them. Just stall them until we can all regroup." With the order given, Optimus turned and stalked off through the vast array of human war machines.

Knockout muttered something about 'killing any human he spotted' before beckoning Breakdown to follow him.

"How much time do you think she has before they reach her spark chamber?" Breakdown asked once they were far enough away from the other Autobots.

Knockout placed a servo on his chassis again, trying desperately to speak to Arcee through the bond they shared, "I know her inner workings inside and out. I know how thin her armor is. If they have been tearing at her frame all morning long, there's no doubt in my processor that they'll reach her spark chamber within a matter of minutes." He shifted his gaze from the ground to his friend, "I don't want to lose her Breakdown. Not again..."

Breakdown immediately thought back to the slump Knockout had been in when Arcee found out about the whole Megatron ordeal. Multiply that to the pain caused by the loss of not only a sparkmate, but also an unborn sparkling, and Knockout was sure to be a wreck.

Transforming his hand into his signature hammer, Breakdown broke into a run ahead of Knockout and smashed the nearest hanger with relative ease.

"We gotta find her quick right? How about we just smash these buildings? I figure the one that doesn't crumble that easily will be the one we're looking for."

Knockout smirked and nodded, giving his partner the go-ahead. This moment of sheer brilliance from his friend could be the solution to finding his missing sparkmate.

_'Hold on Arcee. We're coming.'_

~I~

_'Hold...on...Arcee...'_

Arcee's connection to Knockout was growing thinner the longer she stayed online. Her body was demanding immediate refuel and recharge, but she denied the warnings every time. She had to stay online, if only so he could find her faster.

One of the soldiers running past the examination table caught her attention. He climbed to the top of the platform where Silas was standing watch and whispered something in his ear.

Dismissing the soldier, Silas wore a sneer as he addressed Arcee.

"Well, I don't know how they found us, but it seems your friends are here trying to save you. Too bad they won't get the chance."

"If I know my team...they'll be here soon..."

"You fail to grasp my meaning. They may be able to find us, but by the time they get here, you'll be beyond saving." He turned his gaze to one of the scientists on her chassis, "How much longer until you breach the inner armor?"

The scientist didn't even look up from drilling as he answered Silas, "We'll have this armor cracked open in about five minutes sir."

"Excellent." Looking once more at Arcee, he relished seeing a flare of anger in her optics, "Your friends have five minutes. Normally that would be more than enough time for us, but just to make things more interesting, how about I stall them for a while?"

Silas snapped his fingers and ordered a small army of soldiers to go out and 'greet' the would-be-rescuers. Climbing into their vehicles, the soldiers dispersed, leaving Arcee alone with only the scientists and Silas.

"Why don't...you go with them? Afraid to...get your hands dirty?"

The smug grin the humans always wore widened slightly, "On the contrary. As much as I would love to greet your friends with a blast of electricity, I'm more interested in seeing what you have inside of that 'spark chamber' of yours. A new life from an alien life form has always been quite fascinating to me. Now, I'll have the perfect opportunity to study one up close."

Sighing in exasperation, Arcee tried thinking of a way she could possibly sway this human. She had to do something in order to buy time.

A loud crash drew her from her thoughts and she looked over to where there was a clearly visible dent on the left side of the building. She heard Silas order the scientists to hurry up, but she didn't feel as worried as she had been before.

_'They found me.'_

~I~

"Knockout! I think I found it!"

"That's great Breakdown, now hurry up and tear it down! I can't hold these humans off much longer!"

While Knockout was busy swinging and zapping any human that came close with his energon prod, Breakdown backed up and readied himself to charge at the reinforced building. Letting out a battle cry, he slammed the entire weight of his frame into the side of the hanger. He charged a couple more times before trying to punch his way through the weakened metal.

Giving this swing everything he had, he soon felt his entire servo break through the wall and leave a gaping hole when he pulled it out. A hole big enough to see Arcee strapped to an examination table with almost all of her chest armor ripped off.

"Knockout! I found her!"

Immediately ignoring the rest of the humans still firing at him, Knockout sprinted over to where Breakdown was making another hole in the wall, one big enough for them to fit through. Over his partners shoulder, he could see the terrorists leader glare at him while the scientists on top of Arcee worked faster.

Finally managing to push his way through the wall, Breakdown transformed his hand back into a hammer while Knockout reactivated his energon prod.

"Take one step, and your girlfriend is as good as dead."

Both bots looked down to see Arcee's spark chamber wide open and the scientists drills dangerously close to it. Silas's own gun was pointed directly at the center of her spark.

"Listen closely human. Let her go, and I promise I won't hurt you...much."

"I'm afraid you don't have a say in the matter. My scientists are going to extract this 'sparkling' from her, and if you so much as move an inch, I'll shoot her. Do we understand each other?"

Knockout snarled at the human, but reluctantly stayed where he was. He had to think fast. Seeing Breakdown fidget anxiously in his peripheral vision, Knockout suddenly got an idea.

"Oh, I understand. _I_ can't move an inch," Sparing a glance at his partner, he gave the silent order for Breakdown to aim his shoulder cannon, "But he can!"

On cue, a laser shot out of the cannon aiming straight for Silas. Unfortunately for them, the human had faster reflexes than expected and he easily dodge rolled away from the blast. While the human hadn't been hit, the monitors behind him had, and were now sparking and reading error messages on every screen.

Regaining his composure, Silas tried pulling his gun on Arcee again, only to be met with electricity sparking close to his head.

"Do you want another scar to adorn your face? Drop the weapon human."

The red eyes that bore into him were filled with so much hate, for a brief moment, Silas wondered if this was the last time he'd ever be able to dissect an alien. Dismissing the thought, he threw the handgun at the red mech's face, momentarily stunning him, and sprinted off through the back exit of the hanger.

"Wretched human..." Knockout muttered as he ran and servo over his face, making sure there wasn't a dent from where the gun had hit him.

"Knockout...Breakdown...thank Primus..."

Subspacing his energon prod, Knockout knelt down next to Arcee who, thanks to Breakdown, was now free of the clamps binding her to the table. He automatically scanned her, finding her energon levels extremely low. Even her reserves weren't going to be enough to sustain her for much longer.

"Uh, I'll go comm the Autobots...over here..." Breakdown murmured, clearly uncomfortable with seeing Arcee's exposed spark chamber. The spark was something only reserved for medics and sparkmates. No one else.

Barely acknowledging his friend making the call, Knockout shifted Arcee to a sitting position so that he could sit behind her and lay her back down on his lap. There wasn't much he could do pertaining to her armor. The humans had done a good job ripping it clean off her frame. All he could do now was make her as comfortable as possible while waiting for the Autobots to arrive.

"Can you...see the sparkling...Knockout?"

Hesitating slightly, Knockout slowly leaned over Arcee to look into her spark chamber. At first, all he saw was the glowing, pulsating blue orb that was Arcee's spark. But looking closer, he spotted a tiny purple orb latched onto the left side of her spark. It was dimmer then its mothers, but a healthy shade nonetheless.

"Red and blue makes purple." Knockout mused to himself before answering Arcee's question, "Yes, I see it. It's...beautiful."

"Do you...have a name...for it yet?" Arcee asked while finally starting to give in to her body's need to recharge.

"As a matter of fact, I do. But you need to recharge now, or else you're not going to be well enough to handle the sparklings removal." He started stroking her helm gently and, before she went into recharge, leaned down and whispered in her audio, "Rest easy _mein fräulein_. _Ich liebe dich_."

He didn't get a response as Arcee's systems finally succumbed to exhaustion and shut down for a long recharge.

"The Autobots are coming Knockout. You want to, ah, cover her up?"

A sight escaped the medic as he explained, "As much as I would like to, I can't. Her armor can't just reattach itself, so I need you to bear with me here. Besides, you've been around me for long enough. Seeing another bots spark shouldn't be all that new to you."

Cautiously stepping over to where Knockout sat, Breakdown kept his gaze averted from him as he answered, "I know, its just...she's your sparkmate, not some random bot who's chassis needed repairs. Being a medic's assistant is one thing. This...is completely different."

The conversation would have continued if it wasn't for the Autobots arrival. As Ratchet moved over to examine Arcee himself, Breakdown gratefully excused himself to replay the details of what had occurred to Optimus.

"Optimus, I'm happy to say that Arcee is stable. Very low on energon, but otherwise stable." Ratchet watched as Knockout gathered Arcee in his servos before continuing, "The sparkling is also doing fine. Its spark is a little dim, but as soon as Arcee gets a proper refuel, it'll be a healthy shade of purple again."

"Purple?" Bulkhead questioned, "I thought sparks were either blue or red."

Chuckling quietly, Knockout headed for the ground bridge that had appeared just outside of the hanger.

"What can I say? Red and blue makes purple."

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><p>Again, this seemed to take forever to write! But now that its finally done, one last part remains; the birth of the sparkling!<p>

Feel free to correct me if the German I used is wrong in any way. And as always, enjoy and review!

**-RulerofFire**


	4. I pledge to you my faith and love

**Author's Notes - **Dear lord has it been awhile since my last update, but I blame the show for taking so long to air the next season of Transformers Prime. And now that its FINALLY come on, my writer's block is all in the past...sorta. I'm hoping this chapter lives up to what you guys were expecting. Probably not after waiting so long, but here's hoping.

By the way, I put an easter egg in this chapter dedicated to my friend _spiritsl_. If you or anyone else can find it, then you'll all get some delicious internet cookies. (This is mainly for anyone who's read her AMAZING Bayformers story 'Rekindling the Spark'. If you haven't read it yet, then go do so now).

As always, review and enjoy the last part of this here story!

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><p>Arcee woke up after what seemed like an eternity of stasis lock and checked her systems before onlining her optics. All the readings checked out as normal, and her energon reserves were full once again. But since the energon in her systems wasn't being recycled to her spark chamber, that could only mean one thing;<p>

She had given birth to the sparkling during her time in stasis lock.

Onlining her optics, she expected to see Knockout or Ratchet smiling down at her with the newborn sparkling safely nestled in thermal blankets. She even expected to see her entire team, humans included, surrounding and congratulating her on the first Cybertronian birth in over a millenia.

What she saw was a darkened room, void of all signs of life, both old and new.

When she tried sitting up, she found that her upper chassis, arms, and legs were strapped down to a medical berth, and all she could do was move her head around to try and determine where she was.

Panic and dread found its way to her voice as she called out, "Knockout? Ratchet? What happened? Where is everyone?"

"I'm afraid your friends didn't make it in time to save you. But rest assured, we have what we came for, so you're of no use to us any longer. You'll be leaving soon...to the scrap yard."

Arcee swiveled her head in every direction, but she couldn't place where the M.E.C.H leaders voice was coming from. But what worried her most was what she had just heard him say.

"Wait, what do you mean you have what you came for?"

She heard his smug chuckle from somewhere in the darkness directly ahead. Lifting her head up, all she saw was his evil eyes looming down at her, glistening in triumph.

"Why, we captured you to extract your sparkling. And now that we have it, you are of no more use to us. Goodbye robot."

"NO! Where is my sparkling? What have you done with it?" Arcee felt herself getting weaker the more she struggled against her binds. Her energon reserves might have been full, but that didn't mean she was back to being in perfect health immediately after giving birth.

"You want to meet it? Well then, here it is!"

At the snap of his fingers, a white light exploded to life and left Arcee momentarily blinded. When her vision finally adjusted though, the sight before her made her wish she had never opened her optics to begin with.

Right in front of her in a giant examination tube and surrounded by countless M.E.C.H scientists, was her sparkling. The pulsating orb, not yet given a frame to call its own, was being suspended in the tube by various wires, while the scientists analyzed the readings they were getting from the spark beats it made.

Arcee cried out, both in despair and anger. She had tried so hard to hold on to the sparkling for however long it took until her sparkmate and her friends arrived to save her. Now, it seemed all that fighting to stay online, all that backtalk to the humans holding her captive...it was all for naught.

She had failed to save her sparkling. Just as she had failed to save Tailgate and Cliffjumper. Another life taken from her, right before her optics and all she could do was lie there mourning. It just wasn't fair.

_"Arcee!"_

She shook her head, wanting so badly to just lose herself and enter stasis lock again. But a persistent voice was keeping her online.

_"Arcee! Can you hear me?"_

'...Knockout?'

_"Arcee, I need you to wake up! Charge your systems and online for me, for us. Can you do that?"_

"But...the sparkling...where-"

_"She's here Arcee, and she's safe. Now please, would you online your systems so I can be positive that you're alright?"_

_She_...her sparkling was a femme. But if her sparkling was with Knockout and the others, then that would mean...

This was just one messed up nightmare.

Slowly, the image of her sparkling in the examination tube faded away, her bindings slid off her frame, and Silas's laughter grew to be nothing more than an echo in the back of her processor. She willed her systems to charge up one at a time, pacing herself so as to not get disoriented upon coming online. Soon, the darkened room disappeared completely and the rock walls of their hideout came into view. Stretching to sit up, she paused when a servo kept her laying down.

"Easy Arcee, you've been through quite the ordeal. You're body needs time to rejuvenate and refuel from all the energon loss and from whatever else those humans put you through."

Arcee gave into Ratchet's orders immediately and relaxed on the berth, sighing in relief that her friends had indeed managed to save her in time. Flashes of the humans ripping open her armor quickly drew her out of her revere and she looked down to see what kind of damage they had caused to her chassis.

Surprisingly, she found her armor fully intact with no indication that it had been pried open mere hours before. Running her servos over her chassis, she felt no dents, scratches, or tears of any kind.

"You were pretty beat up when we found you Arcee. You're actually quite lucky your sparkmate has a thing for cosmetics."

Hearing the mention of Knockout brought another smile to Arcee's face. "He really is something isn't he? Speaking of which, where is he? I heard him talking to me before I onlined."

A puzzled look crossed Ratchet's faceplates. "He was talking to you? Are you sure it wasn't through your sparkbond? Because he hasn't been in here since fixing up your chassis."

Now it was Arcee's turn to be skeptical. "I didn't feel him through my spark. I was certain he was standing right next to me, guiding me out of my nightmares. He really wasn't in here? But then, what happened to my sparkling?"

"Well, once we got you back here and stabilized your overworked systems, we had to make a decision. Either wait for you to come back online and then have the sparkling, or induce the sparkling's birth regardless of your condition." Ratchet's features morphed into a frown as he continued, "It was a difficult decision to make, and an even harder procedure to attempt considering how great the risks were. But both of us had come to the conclusion that you would heal faster if the sparkling wasn't continuously siphoning your energon supply, so we went forward with the latter procedure."

Under different circumstances, Arcee would have been irked at the doctor for not waiting for her approval or asking permission to go digging around in her chassis. But this time was different, and she understood that it hadn't been just her life on the line; the safety of her sparkling had been a top priority as well.

"Does Knockout have the sparkling with him?"

Ratchet began unhooking various energon lines from Arcee's vital points as he answered, "Yeah, he took the sparkling into the main room, possibly to show off to everyone. I must say Arcee, red and blue make some interesting color combinations."

Gingerly climbing off the berth, Arcee made her way to the main rooms entrance, but not before asking one last question. "Did...he name the sparkling yet?"

"I told him that he should wait until you onlined before he gave the sparkling a permanent designation, but..." Ratchet gave the retreating femme a small genuine smile, "...I think you'll like the name he chose."

Returning the smile, she walked through the doors and into the main area, where she was greeted by a barrage of voices from her teammates, her human friends, and even Agent Fowler.

After surviving two frame-crushing hugs from both Bulkhead and Breakdown (the latter still a little embarrassed after seeing her unarmored), dodging the merciless amount of questions being thrown at her courtesy of the kids, and listening to a minor lecture from Agent Fowler regarding 'unauthorized breeding', Arcee was finally able to approach Knockout leaning up against the far wall in relative peace. Wrapped up in thermal blankets and cradled in the nook of his elbow joints was her sparkling. _Their_ sparkling.

Leaning up against her sparkmate, she was finally able to look at her sparkling for the first time. Ratchet hadn't been lying when he said their colors made an interesting combination. It was almost uncanny how much the sparkling looked like _both _parents.

When Knockout silently unwrapped the blanket, she saw that the sparkling had his silvery white protoform and his crimson red paint job. Though the ends of its servos and pedes had a bluish tinge to them that made it look purple in the right light. The frame itself looked more like her sleek build, while the helm resembled Knockout's, complete with 'elf ears' as Miko had once called them. It was a perfect mix of both Arcee and Knockout.

"She had her optics open earlier. They look exactly like mine, but with a bluish lining on the outer lens, much like yours."

Arcee almost couldn't believe it was Knockout when he spoke. He sounded so reserved, and appeared to be much calmer than he had been the night she had been diagnosed as sparked. Taking her eyes off the sleeping form, she glanced up to see the same loving gaze Knockout normally only reserved for her being directed to the sparkling.

"You'll make an excellent father Knockout. Don't let the past tell you otherwise."

Finally drawing his gaze towards his sparkmate, he let all of his emotions flood into their bond instead of speaking them, wanting her to truly feel how much he cared for both of them.

Returning the feelings, Arcee drew closer and leaned in so she could be sure only he would hear her when she spoke. "You spoke to me in a nightmare I was having before I onlined, you guided me away from the darkness and took me out of stasis lock. I can never thank you enough for rescuing me."

"I am pretty amazing, aren't I? Rescuing femmes from the clutches of terrorists, fixing up their appearance and helping with the birthing process of a sparkling a millenia in the making...all in a days work."

Anyone else might have been offended by Knockout's vain attitude, but underneath that teasing voice, Arcee knew this was his special way of saying 'You're welcome'. Leaning up to give him a quick peck on the cheek, she diverted her gaze back down to her sparkling.

"So, Ratchet told me you gave her a name already. What is it?"

Carefully handing the sparkling over to its mother without waking her, Knockout folded his servos across his chassis and started with as much pride as he could muster, "You'll like this name, I guarantee it. After a lot of deliberation, I've decided on the name-"

"Hey! You didn't answer any of my questions! Like, how bad did you kick those bad guys butts, or, where exactly did that sparkling come from anyway? Did you have to build the frame or was it already like that?"

Leave it to Miko to ruin the moment of peace.

Arcee simply laughed and nodded her head in Miko's direction when Knockout gave her a pleading look of 'Do I have to?'.

_'Might as well get the questions over with.'_

_'Doesn't mean I have to like it.'_

Surprised that Knockout answered her, she looked over only to see him wink before walking away with Miko hot on his heels.

"Now, you wanted to know where the sparkling came from? Well, when a mech and a femme love each other very much..."

* * *

><p><strong>THE END.<strong>

**Author's Notes - **That's right people, THIS IS THE END. Again, sorry if its not what you expected at all, but this is for the best. After such a long wait, this story seemed to be holding me back from other things I wanted to start on, and now that its finished, I feel as if a weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders.

To be honest, I don't know where I was going with the whole Arcee/Knockout sparkbond nightmare thing, but I guess you can relate it to love saving you from even your worst nightmares...or something like that. You guys can make your own assumptions.

Oh silly me. Did I not write the sparklings name down? Well, I had a name planned, but...I kinda forgot what it was in this long absence of mine. Shame on me. So, I guess you'll just have to create names for this sparkling yourselves. If you leave any good name suggestions in your reviews, I might be inclined to re-edit the story and include it.

Til next time people!  
><strong>-RulerofFire<strong>


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